Bargo trial: his mother testifies about an abusive husband

Michael Bargo Jr., left, looks at defense attorney Charles Holloman during the second day of the penalty phase of his first-degree murder trial Monday, Aug. 26, 2013. Bargo was convicted last week for his part in the heinous murder of Seath Jackson in 2011. The state is seeking the death penalty.

Published: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 3:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 3:27 p.m.

Tracey O'Brien choked back tears on Monday as she told the jury about walking into a local bar one evening in search of her then-husband, Michael Bargo Sr. She walked up to him, made a comment she could not remember, and then left.

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But he followed her outside to the car. "He punched out the window," she said. "Michael (Bargo Jr.) was in the back seat in his car seat. Not even a year old."

O'Brien remembered seeing the glass shatter dangerously close to their child.

She also told the court of her deteriorating relationship with her son, now 21, who sat behind the defense table during the penalty phase of his murder trial on Monday.

Last week the 12-member jury found the younger Bargo guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm for the 2011 death of Seath Jackson, 15. The jury is now hearing testimony about aggravating and mitigating facts of the murder.

The panel eventually will recommend a sentence — death or life in prison without parole — to Circuit Judge David Eddy, who will ultimately decide Bargo's fate.

During her testimony for the defense, O'Brien said this is the first time she had seen her son in four years.

Last week, the defense presented testimony that described a messy divorce between Bargo's parents when the defendant was 7. Their son was used as a pawn, witnesses said.

The longtime tension was evident in court Monday, as O'Brien called "this is your fault" from the witness stand, over their son's head, at her former husband.

During her testimony, O'Brien appeared different than the portrayal of an abusive mother given last week by her ex-husband and his mother. She described Bargo Sr. as a man who would come home drunk and angry.

"I would get Michael out of his crib and would sit in his room with him until his dad would pass out," O'Brien said. "I knew he wouldn't bother me if I was in there and I had Michael."

She remembers Bargo Sr. punching holes in walls and, after the couple separated, calling social services so many times the agency threatened to charge him with calling in false reports.

In 2008, Bargo Sr. was arrested for owing more than $20,000 in child support payments, she said.

O'Brien recalled her son acting out — at one point even lying down in the middle of the street for no reason. Another time he climbed a tree and stayed in the branches for hours because he couldn't be with his dad like he wanted.

"Sometimes there was bizarre behavior for no reason," pointed out defense attorney Charles Holloman. O'Brien remembered finding cut marks on her son's arms and noticing he was piercing his own body.

"He didn't have an answer," she said when she questioned him about the marks.

After the mother's testimony, the defense switched the topic to the analytical, calling Dr. Robert Berland to the witness stand.

He told the jury about the results of a psychological test on the defendant that consisted of 370 true-and-false questions.

"He was diagnosed originally as a bipolar, but I think it's a kind of throwaway diagnosis ..." Berland said. "I think he's probably, at most a schizoaffective, which is the same thing, only it's inheritive."

Bargo's paternal grandfather had a history of mental disturbance that resulted in repeated hospital visits. He eventually committed suicide.

According to Berland, members of the first generation after someone with a mental disturbance have a higher likelihood for suffering from mental illness.

"The father (Bargo Sr.) is likely mentally ill," Berland concluded.

Berland's testing on Bargo Jr. also showed high levels of paranoia and schizophrenia, indicating symptoms of a psychosis, and he believes Bargo Jr. suffers from delusional paranoid thinking.

"Delusional paranoid thinking means that you have a view of the world, that you feel vulnerable to things that other people don't feel vulnerable to," Berland said.

The psychosis is biological in nature and can be inherited or develop as a result of a brain injury. Bargo is said to have suffered from head trauma during childhood.

"… Everything I have points to mental illness," said Berland.

After the defense rested, the state called Dr. Greg Prichard, an expert in clinical and forensic psychology. He contradicted Berland, saying Bargo's behavior is on the cusp of psychopathic, and that the defendant has previously been described by medical professionals as "oppositional defiant."

Prichard pointed to Bargo's history of insubordination, fighting, being suspended from various schools more than 20 times, setting fires, and showing disrespect to authority figures and the women in his family: his sister, mother and grandmother.

Prichard argued all of these factors pertain more to behavioral problems than any psychosis.

Prichard also reviewed documents about the crime itself and Bargo's history. "I'm saying, in my review of everything up until the point of this crime in April of 2011, that there's not an indication that he has a psychotic process," Prichard said.

He pointed to the organization that went into planning Seath's death, explaining this doesn't suggest Bargo was in the middle of a psychotic break.

"What we see in Mr. Bargo's case, it's much more the criminally minded individual, that he's orchestrating this event and he has a number of players underneath him that he has instructed to carry out these, essentially well-planned tasks," Prichard said.

"That's the nature of the kind of character we're talking about with Mr. Bargo to begin with."

He also pointed to the mutilation of Seath's body and failure to show empathy as evidence of Bargo's psychopathic tendencies.

During cross-examination of Berland, the defense medical expert, Assistant State Attorney Robin Arnold noted that on the day of Bargo's arrest he did not indicate any signs of suffering from hallucinations, schizophrenia or delusions, and his cognition was normal.

Arnold and Prichard both pointed out possible problems with Berland's test results.

"He wasn't going to admit that there was anything wrong with him," Berland said. He later said Bargo referenced several times having frightening auditory hallucination.

Both sides rested Monday afternoon but not before the defense moved for a mistrial on grounds the state had inappropriately suggested Berland supported life sentences in death penalty cases.

Closing arguments will be heard this morning and are scheduled to not exceed 45 minutes.

<p>Tracey O'Brien choked back tears on Monday as she told the jury about walking into a local bar one evening in search of her then-husband, Michael Bargo Sr. She walked up to him, made a comment she could not remember, and then left.</p><p>But he followed her outside to the car. "He punched out the window," she said. "Michael (Bargo Jr.) was in the back seat in his car seat. Not even a year old."</p><p>O'Brien remembered seeing the glass shatter dangerously close to their child.</p><p>She also told the court of her deteriorating relationship with her son, now 21, who sat behind the defense table during the penalty phase of his murder trial on Monday.</p><p>Last week the 12-member jury found the younger Bargo guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm for the 2011 death of Seath Jackson, 15. The jury is now hearing testimony about aggravating and mitigating facts of the murder.</p><p>The panel eventually will recommend a sentence — death or life in prison without parole — to Circuit Judge David Eddy, who will ultimately decide Bargo's fate.</p><p>During her testimony for the defense, O'Brien said this is the first time she had seen her son in four years.</p><p>Last week, the defense presented testimony that described a messy divorce between Bargo's parents when the defendant was 7. Their son was used as a pawn, witnesses said.</p><p>The longtime tension was evident in court Monday, as O'Brien called "this is your fault" from the witness stand, over their son's head, at her former husband.</p><p>During her testimony, O'Brien appeared different than the portrayal of an abusive mother given last week by her ex-husband and his mother. She described Bargo Sr. as a man who would come home drunk and angry.</p><p>"I would get Michael out of his crib and would sit in his room with him until his dad would pass out," O'Brien said. "I knew he wouldn't bother me if I was in there and I had Michael."</p><p>She remembers Bargo Sr. punching holes in walls and, after the couple separated, calling social services so many times the agency threatened to charge him with calling in false reports.</p><p>In 2008, Bargo Sr. was arrested for owing more than $20,000 in child support payments, she said.</p><p>O'Brien recalled her son acting out — at one point even lying down in the middle of the street for no reason. Another time he climbed a tree and stayed in the branches for hours because he couldn't be with his dad like he wanted.</p><p>"Sometimes there was bizarre behavior for no reason," pointed out defense attorney Charles Holloman. O'Brien remembered finding cut marks on her son's arms and noticing he was piercing his own body.</p><p>"He didn't have an answer," she said when she questioned him about the marks.</p><p>After the mother's testimony, the defense switched the topic to the analytical, calling Dr. Robert Berland to the witness stand.</p><p>He told the jury about the results of a psychological test on the defendant that consisted of 370 true-and-false questions.</p><p>"He was diagnosed originally as a bipolar, but I think it's a kind of throwaway diagnosis ..." Berland said. "I think he's probably, at most a schizoaffective, which is the same thing, only it's inheritive."</p><p>Bargo's paternal grandfather had a history of mental disturbance that resulted in repeated hospital visits. He eventually committed suicide.</p><p>According to Berland, members of the first generation after someone with a mental disturbance have a higher likelihood for suffering from mental illness.</p><p>"The father (Bargo Sr.) is likely mentally ill," Berland concluded.</p><p>Berland's testing on Bargo Jr. also showed high levels of paranoia and schizophrenia, indicating symptoms of a psychosis, and he believes Bargo Jr. suffers from delusional paranoid thinking.</p><p>"Delusional paranoid thinking means that you have a view of the world, that you feel vulnerable to things that other people don't feel vulnerable to," Berland said.</p><p>The psychosis is biological in nature and can be inherited or develop as a result of a brain injury. Bargo is said to have suffered from head trauma during childhood.</p><p>"… Everything I have points to mental illness," said Berland.</p><p>After the defense rested, the state called Dr. Greg Prichard, an expert in clinical and forensic psychology. He contradicted Berland, saying Bargo's behavior is on the cusp of psychopathic, and that the defendant has previously been described by medical professionals as "oppositional defiant."</p><p>Prichard pointed to Bargo's history of insubordination, fighting, being suspended from various schools more than 20 times, setting fires, and showing disrespect to authority figures and the women in his family: his sister, mother and grandmother.</p><p>Prichard argued all of these factors pertain more to behavioral problems than any psychosis.</p><p>Prichard also said Bargo's lengthy medical/social work file never mentions partial complex seizures. Last week, defense witness Dr. Joseph Wu testified the defendant showed signs of such seizures.</p><p>Prichard also reviewed documents about the crime itself and Bargo's history. "I'm saying, in my review of everything up until the point of this crime in April of 2011, that there's not an indication that he has a psychotic process," Prichard said.</p><p>He pointed to the organization that went into planning Seath's death, explaining this doesn't suggest Bargo was in the middle of a psychotic break.</p><p>"What we see in Mr. Bargo's case, it's much more the criminally minded individual, that he's orchestrating this event and he has a number of players underneath him that he has instructed to carry out these, essentially well-planned tasks," Prichard said.</p><p>"That's the nature of the kind of character we're talking about with Mr. Bargo to begin with."</p><p>He also pointed to the mutilation of Seath's body and failure to show empathy as evidence of Bargo's psychopathic tendencies.</p><p>During cross-examination of Berland, the defense medical expert, Assistant State Attorney Robin Arnold noted that on the day of Bargo's arrest he did not indicate any signs of suffering from hallucinations, schizophrenia or delusions, and his cognition was normal.</p><p>Arnold and Prichard both pointed out possible problems with Berland's test results.</p><p>"He wasn't going to admit that there was anything wrong with him," Berland said. He later said Bargo referenced several times having frightening auditory hallucination.</p><p>Both sides rested Monday afternoon but not before the defense moved for a mistrial on grounds the state had inappropriately suggested Berland supported life sentences in death penalty cases.</p><p>Closing arguments will be heard this morning and are scheduled to not exceed 45 minutes.</p><p>Contact April Warren at 867-4065 or april.warren@ocala.com.</p>